Great-heart. You fpeak now in the warmth of your affections. Will it, think you, be always thus with you? Befides, this is not communicated to every one, nor to every one who did fee your Jefus bleed. There were fome who stood by, and faw the blood run from his heart to the ground, and yet were fo far from this, that, inftead of lamenting, they laughed at him; instead of becoming his difciples, they did harden their hearts against him. So that all which you have, my daughters, you have by peculiar impreffion made by a divine contemplating upon what I have spoken to you". Remember what was told you, That the hen, by her common call, gives no meat to her chickens. This you have therefore by fpecial grace.

Now I saw still in my dream, that they went on until they came to the place where Simple, Sloth,

There are few, if any, in this country, but believe that there was fuch a man as Jefus, who was called Chrift; and that he was crucified without the gates of Jerufalem; but what has this believing the hiftory to do with that faith, which is of the operation of the Spirit? with that faith, by which we can draw near to God with boldness, as being fatisfied that this Jefus did bear our fins in his own body upon the tree; and that he, being God as well as man, by the facrifice of his death, hath put our fins away from before the Father's face? A divine and spiritual contemplating upon this bleeding facrifice makes that peculiar impreffion upon the heart, whereby, in our feeling and apprehenfion, we pafs from death unto life, and are brought into a new ftate; being not under the law, as before, but under grace, which now reigns, through righte ousness, unto eternal life.

and Prefumption, lay and flept, when Christian went by on pilgrimage: and behold they were hanged up in irons a little way off, on the other fide.

Then faid Mercy to him who was their guide and conductor, What are these three men? And for what are they hanged there?

Great-heart. Thefe three men were men of bad qualities; they had no mind to be pilgrims themfelves, and whomfoever they could, they hindered ; they were for floth and folly themselves, and whomfoever they could perfuade, they made so too; and withal taught them to prefume that they fhould do well at laft. They were asleep when Christian went by, and now you go by they are hanged.

Mercy. But could they perfuade any one to be of their opinion?

Great-heart. Yes, they turned several out of the way. There was Slow-pace whom they perfuaded to do as they did: they alfo prevailed with one Short-wind; with one No-heart; with one Lingerafter-Luft; and with one Sleepy-head; and with a young woman whofe name was Dull; to turn out of the way, and become as they. Befides, they brought up an ill report of your Lord, perfuading others that he was a hard task-master. They also brought up an evil report of the good land, faying, It was not half fo good as fome pretended it was. They also began to vilify his fervants, and to count the best of them meddlefome, troublesome, busybodies. Farther, they would call the bread of God,

hufks;

hufks; the comforts of his children, fancies; the travel and labour of pilgrims, things to no purpofe.

Chrift. Nay, faid Chriftiana, if they were fuch, they shall never be bewailed by me; they have but what they deferve; and I think it well that they stand so near the highway, that others may fee and take warning. But had it not been well if their crimes had been engraven on fome pillar of iron or brass, and left here where they did the mischief, for a caution to other bad men ?

Great-heart. It is fo, as you may perceive, if you will go a little to the wall.

Mercy. No, no; let them hang, and their names rot, and their crimes live for ever against them: I think it is a high favour that they are hanged before we came hither: who knows what they might have done to fuch poor women as we are? Then she turned it into a song, saying,

Now then you three hang there, and be a fign
To all that shall against the truth combine;
And let him that comes after fear this end,

If unto pilgrims he is not a friend.

And thou, my foul, of all fuch men beware,
That unto holiness oppofers are.

Thus they went on, till they came at the foot of the hill Difficulty, where their good friend Mr. Great-heart took occafion to tell them what happened there when Chriftian himself went by.

U 2

He

had

had them first to the fpring: Lo, faid he, this is the fpring of which Christian drank before he went up this hill; it was then clear and good, but now it is dirty with the feet of fome who are not defirous that pilgrims fhould quench their thirst here. Thereat Mercy faid, And are they fo envious, trow? Nevertheless, faid the guide, it will do, if taken up and put into a veffel which is fweet and good; for then the dirt will fink to the bottom, and the water come out by itself more clear. Therefore Chriftiana and her companions were compelled to do thus: they took it up, and put it into an earthen pot, and fo let it stand till the dirt was gone to the bottom, and then they drank thereof.

Next he fhewed them the two by-ways at the foot of the hill, where Formality and Hypocrify loft themselves. Thefe, faid he, are dangerous paths: two here were caft away when Christian came by. And although you see these ways are fince stopped up with chains, pofts, and a ditch, yet there are some

s It is the bufinefs of gospel perverters to muddy the waters; and this they do by darkening counsel, by abstract reasoning, or, as the Apostle fays, by philofophy and vain deceit. How many fermons may you hear, and how many books may you read, in which there is little or nothing faid to the point, as it refpects the gospel of falvation! Such fermons and books confift chiefly in difputing about what might have been, or how fuch things can be: What is this but vain jangling? What good can this do a poor convinced finner who wants to hear of a Saviour!

will

will choose to adventure here, rather than take the pains to go up this hill.

Christ. The way of tranfgreffors is hard, Prov. xiii. 15. It is a wonder that they can get into those ways without danger of breaking their necks.

Great-heart. They will venture, yea, if at any time any of the King's fervants do happen to fee them, and do call to them, and tell them, that they are in the wrong way, and do bid them beware of the danger; yet they will railingly return them anfwer, and say, "As for the word that thou haft

spoken unto us in the name of the King, we will "not hearken unto thee; but we will certainly do "whatsoever thing goeth out of our mouths," &c. Jer. xliv. 16, 17. Nay, if you look a little farther, you shall see that these ways are made with cautions enough, not only by thefe pofts, ditch, and chain, but also being hedged up, yet they will choose to go there,

Some are ready to fuppofe that all the difficulty in religion lies in a strict and punctual observance of ordinances; in a regular and close attendance upon public worship; or, it may be, occafionally in fafting, or in ftated times for reading: but if these things are all which make up the difficulties of religion, I am perfuaded that a formalift and hypocrite will not shrink from thefe. Heart-work is hard work; it is hard work to be ftripped; it is hard work to deny felf, take up your crofs, and follow Jefus; it is hard work to fight the fight of faith; it is hard work against hope to believe in hope. A formalift and hypocrite will go, in outward things, as far as the real Chriftian; but touch him on the inward work, and he'll start afide.